Hello.. I am a new MC owner and to this forum.. I am trying to find out if MC will issue a Certificate of Origin for a MC trailer that i purchased with my boat. I was given a bill of sale and title for the boat, but just a bill of sale for the trailer. I live in South Carolina and the good news is I don't need a tag to trailer the boat in-state. Bad news is that I plan to trailer it out of state on occasion and the only way to obtain a tag is w/ a title or C/O. Any Help on this topic will be greatly appreciated.

A CO is issued upon the manufacture by the trailer/boat manufacturer of a new trailer for the purpose of obtaining a title and license plate in those states that require them, same as a CO for the boat itself. Since the trailer/boat you have is used, the original owner that bought it new may have already turned in the CO for the trailer title/plates and possibly the boat if it was a state that required license plates on the trailer. Otherwise, your state may allow you to apply for a lost title and get the tags through that route, just check with them and explain the circumstances as long as you have the correct VIN with all the proper sales paperwork.

__________________Charter Member Number 1

Quote: 2RLAKE,
At some point in time people need to wake up, remove their cranial intrusion into their own rectal areas, and take responsibility for their own actions.

In my state, you only have to license a trailer if it is 751 pounds and up. The MSO on my tandem trailer said it's weight was 750. Hey, they're the manufacturer, what am I supposed to do, drop the boat off at a lake, and try to find a scale to see if it's actually (probably) more than that? I took the MSO to the DMV and showed them, they in return made me a photocopy of the law and notorized it. I keep that in the boat in case I am ever pulled over for not having a license plate. I've never been checked in 14 years. I still have the MSO.

I just realized that I still have my CO on the boat in my owners manual notebook, but used the trailer CO when I applied for the title and license tags. In NC the, a title for a boat is optional, unless there is a lien holder, then the loan company uses the CO to get a title for the boat to hold as collateral till the loan is paid in full.
It was nice to take care of a previous boat of comparable value, sell it three years later and then pay cash for a new one and not have to make payments. And, the boat CO is now something the next owner will have as documentation along with all the other paperwork I have compiled for the last twenty years.

__________________Charter Member Number 1

Quote: 2RLAKE,
At some point in time people need to wake up, remove their cranial intrusion into their own rectal areas, and take responsibility for their own actions.

In my state, you only have to license a trailer if it is 751 pounds and up. The MSO on my tandem trailer said it's weight was 750. Hey, they're the manufacturer, what am I supposed to do, drop the boat off at a lake, and try to find a scale to see if it's actually (probably) more than that? I took the MSO to the DMV and showed them, they in return made me a photocopy of the law and notorized it. I keep that in the boat in case I am ever pulled over for not having a license plate. I've never been checked in 14 years. I still have the MSO.

I don't know what his states laws are !!!

In Florida we do not title trailers. A bill of sale w/ the serial # surfices. Owners here in Florida.
hold onto there MSO's for the trailers

Thank you to all who replied! In my state (South Carolina), you do not need a tag on the trailer as long as you are in state. On occassion, I would like to tow my MC to Virginia and North Carolina. I contacted SC DMV and they said the only way to obtain an SC Tag/title in SC for a trailer is to have the previous owner's title or the CO... I may be SOL which is not a huge deal as there are plenty of lakes around me... Thanks again!

Thank you to all who replied! In my state (South Carolina), you do not need a tag on the trailer as long as you are in state. On occassion, I would like to tow my MC to Virginia and North Carolina. I contacted SC DMV and they said the only way to obtain an SC Tag/title in SC for a trailer is to have the previous owner's title or the CO... I may be SOL which is not a huge deal as there are plenty of lakes around me... Thanks again!

You should be able to travel to any of the other states of your choice, as long as the boat remains registered in SC and SC does not require a license tag. Now if you sell the boat to another person in a state that does require a license tag, then they may have a problem w/o a title or CO.
Talk to TT member Monte, he has a TriStar on a older SC trailer in NC and has gone thru it IIRC.
I know several owners from TN that doesn't require license plates on boat trailers that have traveled to FL w/o problems, providing you don't wind up showing your butt, speeding, etc. and get stopped.

__________________Charter Member Number 1

Quote: 2RLAKE,
At some point in time people need to wake up, remove their cranial intrusion into their own rectal areas, and take responsibility for their own actions.